Iran

Iraqi PM ‘Categorically Rejects’ Trump Admin. Strikes, as Shiite Militia Leader Pledges attacks on US Troops

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Iraqi newspaper Shafaq reports on the reaction of the Kata’ib Hizbullah, an Iraqi Shiite militia, to the US airstrikes targeting its bases on Sunday. The US maintains that Kata’ib Hizbullah (not to be confused with the Lebanese militia) is responsible for an unprecedented number of mortar and rocket attacks […]

Donald Trump

A Feminist Alternative to Trump’s Sabre Rattling against Iran

Foreign Policy in Focus

Foreign policy should prioritize the needs of ordinary civilians and civil society — and wars of choice should always be off the table.

Donald Trump

Trump Fails again to Bring our Troops Home from Mideast: Mulling Escalation of 14,000 v. Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s Pentagon is allegedly mulling sending 14,000 US troops to the Middle East to counter Iran. Although the Pentagon pushed back against the initial report, that had only said they were considering the troop escalation, and the Pentagon did not deny considering it. Trump has sent 14,000 troops to the […]

Iran

Is Iran an Expansionist Power or Just in Defensive Mode?

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Edward Hunt | – (Foreign Policy in Focus) – The Iranian military is focused on deterring external threats not launching an attack on its adversaries. As the Trump administration continues to incite fears about Iran, portraying the country as an aggressor that is destabilizing the Middle East, a new report by the Defense Intelligence […]

Iran

Iran’s Gasoline Rebellion as a Crisis of Representation

Open Democracy

By Rahman Bouzari | – (OpenDemocracy) – The recent round of spontaneous protests against the petrol [gasoline] price hike has to be contextualized as part of the “long-term revolutionary process” in Iran. The 2017-18 uprisings changed the Iranian political landscape for good. Since then, the Islamic Republic has entered into an ‘organic crisis’ par excellence. […]

Iran

Iran: Violent Gov’t Crackdown on Protesters with Live Fire and many Casualties, hidden by Internet Blackout

Human Rights Watch

(Human Rights Watch) – (Beirut) – Iranian security forces appear to be using excessive force against protests that emerged after an abrupt government increase in fuel prices across the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities have ordered the near-total shutdown of the internet. Occasional video footage of protests posted on social media amid the […]

Donald Trump

Iran: Economic Blockade and Crowd Protests were also How the US made the 1953 Coup

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The crowd protests that grew to affect 100 cities over the weekend in Iran were sparked by the government increasing the price of gasoline by as much as 3 times overnight. But the underlying discontents with the government have been caused by a sinking economy, expected to shrink by 9% […]

Iran

Outrage In Iran Over Hike In Gas Prices As Economic Woes Worsen

Golnaz Esfandiari

(RFE/RL) – Iranians are blasting their government for rationing gas and greatly increasing its price, with many concerned that the move will lead to inflation and greater hardship in a country where so many people are struggling to make ends meet. The state-run National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in an overnight announcement on […]

Featured

Mired in a Trump-Fuelled Recession, 20 Iranian Cities erupt with Gasoline Price Protests

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Deutsche Welle reports that the tripling of the price of gasoline by the Iranian government very early Friday morning provoked protests throughout Iran, in at least 20 cities. In Sirjan, a protester was killed. The government drastically slowed down or even cut off the internet. The biggest rallies were in […]